Reluctant hero becomes first living Medal of Honor recipient since Vietnam

Now-Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta shows off “home” during his 15-month deployment to Afghanistan in 2007-2008. He and the other members of 1st Platoon, Battle Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, expanded Firebase Vegas, on a remote mountaintop deep in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, known as the "Valley of Death," from a couple buildings into a working firebase with bunkers and sleeping quarters made of plywood, sandbags and Hesco barriers. During the summer, they faced multiple firefights a day.